Dear Bloggers,
Letās talk. We love you, really, we do. But there are some things that we think we need to discuss. Actually, we discuss and you implement. Thatās where āDear Bloggersā comes in.Ā āDear Bloggersā is a tongue-in-cheek, snarky,Ā Blogging 101 series helping you become a better blogger via blogging tips and suggestions. This is the first in a series of what should be some fun posts. Let’s Go!
Dear Bloggers,Ā Lose the Captcha
We realize that you don’t want spamity, spam, spam but must you torture your faithful readers by requiring us to input a series of wacky letters that spell nothing, and more often than not are illegible the first 2 tries? Can’t you just moderate comments and (GASP!) do the work yourself instead of putting it all on us? Please.
Let’s TalkĀ Subscription Options
How about giving your readers the option to subscribe to your blog (like RSS). Well, your blog feed anyway. Oh, don’t shake your head, it’s easy. Honest. May I recommend {affiliate link}Ā Feedblitz? There, now let me know when you’re done.
Use Aliases
We realize the need to protect the identity of those you blog about. Well, we realize you don’t want them to figure out you are talking about them. That’s fine. But can you just give them a descriptive nickname (Big Mouth, Mr. Ego, etc.) or make up a name for them (John Doe, Betty Boop etc.) rather than using their initials? When you start talking about more than one person, the series of initials is just too hard to follow. If we have to read your previous paragraphs several times just to get through the current one, it’s just too much work. After all, we only have so many hours in our workday to be unproductive, and you’re slowing us down.
Comment So We Know You’re There
Let’s talk about comments. OursĀ specifically. I know you’re visiting. Our dashboard and Google Analytics accountĀ reflects it. What weĀ don’t know is why you aren’t taking the time to comment. So this leads me to believe one of the following:
- OurĀ posts suck so badly that you can not bring yourself to comment on them
- You landed here accidentally while you were looking for porn and left shortly thereafter
- You realize you could never write as eloquently as we doĀ and, therefore, are too shy to comment
WeĀ don’t know who is reading unless you leave a comment. Good, bad or ugly, just comment. Like, seriously! We want to hear from you.
Alrighty then, we just had to get all of that off our collective chests. Get to work on those 4Ā and when more come to mind I’ll, er, we’ll post them.
But in all seriousness, helping you become a better blogger is our goal. What tip would you add? What really drives you crazy? Let us know in the comments below.Ā
Natasha Johnson-Ivy says
Dear bloggers,
Can I please have 2 minutes at least to read your post before your pop up asking for my email?
Can you please have a share option so I can share your post that you took so much time to write, unless you don’t want to be discovered.
Can you stop using comment apps that I have to remember another login for?
Can you provide just a snippet of the post on the homepage and not the whole post forcing me to scroll throughthree posts to find the right me I’m looking for?
Trish Forant says
These are sooooooooooo good Natasha! We agree!
Jen Busfield says
Ha! Loved this! And am definitely called out on a couple of things. In the refresh of my blog, I haven’t yet implemented a subscription option. Noted. I will work on it. Any yea, sometimes I don’t leave a comment, but I’ll tweet with a link to the post. I may have to challenge myself on that one – I’d rather leave a thoughtful comment than something drab, like “Nice post.”
Trish Forant says
We’ll be checking in. Don’t make us blog nasty about you! LOL
Jovanhanna Kristina says
I think I’m in the clear so far lol. Well no I’m sometimes a lurker. I do share posts, but don’t always have the chance to comment. I will do better to help my fellow bloggers by dropping my thoughts on their posts! This was a good read and way to get bloggers thinking about the readers.
Trish Forant says
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, Jovanhanna. I know that we’re all pressed for time, but it’s feels so good when we receive comments and are able to connect with our readers.
Tanya @ Mom's Small Victories says
Lol, catcha, YES! Ads that impossible to click off of or cover the post when I’m trying to read it. And the popup box as soon as I get on a site asking me to subscribe…all drive me crazy! I love commenting, I probably visit fewer people because I ALWAYS have something to say. Leaving thoughtful comments is also my tip, more than just “Great post, thanks for sharing!” We’re a community and should want to support one another.
Trish Forant says
Love all of these. I may have to include all these great suggestions everyone is sharing in the next “Dear Bloggers” post. What do you think? Thanks for adding your comments to the discussion!
Shasta L Walton says
It may drive “bloggers” crazy, but pop-up boxes are the way to go, and my list has grown like crazy, so yeah, there’s that! Since bloggers don’t blog for bloggers, maybe this is only something bloggers, who blog for bloggers need to worry about! Try saying that three times fast! ;)
Trish Forant says
Shasta,
If you’re not blogging for bloggers who are you blogging for? (Seriously, who’s your demographic? I’m curious!) I don’t think that particular annoyance is limited to bloggers, I think pretty much everyone hates pop-ups, even more so when they come immediately after you hit a site. An alternative would be a non-intrusive bar like “Hello Bar” or if you do choose to use a pop-up, one example would be to have it set to appear when someone is coming to the end of an article. Though you may be seeing your list grow, I wouldn’t be too quick to judge it’s working until you double check your bounce rate. If you check and it’s all good, awesome. But that doesn’t change the fact that pop-ups are crazy annoying.
Rachel says
Please comment- I accept negative or positive responses!
Don’t comment on my about me page, use they email I provided.
Your list covered the basics. :)
Trish Forant says
Absolutely agree, Rachel. Please comment! We love them and the feedback is a great way to help guide us. Are we striking a nerve? Are we off base? Comments let us know. Yeah, what’s the deal with emailing vs. commenting. I do adress this is one of the upcoming “Dear Bloggers’ posts. Stay tuned & thanks for sharing your thoughts! Much appreciated.
Shanna Rogers says
So snarky. :) I love it!
Trish Forant says
Glad to hear that, Shanna! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Wait til you read the next one we have planned!
Rosey Rebecca says
Love this post! The captcha thing is SO annoying and I completely agree about the comments! I love know people are reading, but I’d rather someone not comment at all than not leave an authentic comment. :) Agree with other commenters that having to remember a password to leave a comment makes me less likely to leave one and pop-ups to subscribe 3 seconds after I get to the site are REALLY annoying!
Unrelated, but are you the blogger organizing the AVL meet-up at the end of the month? I’m going!
Trish Forant says
Hi Rosey! Thanks for coming over and adding your comments. We sure do appreciate it. So glad you enjoyed this post. We thought it would be a fun way to share some insights, tips and suggestions. Have you seen our 2 Minute Tip videos, yet?
Glad you asked about our Asheville meet up! Our AVL Regional Ambassador, Jaime, is the host for that event. You can learn more about her on our Regional Ambassadors page. You’ll have a great time!
Liz says
Nice post! ::exits thread without saying anything more::
Just kidding! I agree, genuine and thoughtful comments are the best. Who wants to spend their whole blogging career feeling like they’re just shouting to the void or to a few disinterested passersby?
There’s also been a lot of debate recently regarding the effectiveness (or rather ineffectiveness!) of captchas. They are known to chase away real people and the image captchas can be easily bypassed by more sophisticated robots. I personally prefer the moderation approach.
Good point about the aliases too! Some sort of characterization allows for better flow and connection for the readers. As writers I feel like we come with the automatic warning of “be nice to me or you might end up on my blog or in my book.” Though if someone is too nice they run the risk of showing up in my blog as a positive spotlight too :)
Trish Forant says
Liz, I like your style and I can appreciate a fellow snark-er-er. Is that a word? It is now!
Allison B says
I’m guilty of not commenting when I’m on my phone which is most of the time. Even now. But it’s because I comment then I’m asked to jump through a hoop and my comment disappears and I’m forced to start over. I just move along. I went on a page last week with music and I was startled and floored. I thought that was a hated thing of the past that bloggers knew not to do by now.
Trish Forant says
OH MY GOODNESS!! People are still playing music on their sites?! Oh, I am going to have to address that. ;)
Thanks so much for swinging by, Allison, and dropping a little comment love.
Ann says
Can I add, along with the Captcha are comments, are blogging comments through blogspot where they require we use either AIM, Google, OPENID or something else outdated to comment. I know blogspot gives site-owners the option to let people enter their name and site, so don’t disable that. When people do that I just assume they don’t really want comments.
Trish Forant says
Hi Ann,
I really think it’s a matter of not being savvy and perhaps, people haven’t commented on how irritating it is and the site owner doesn’t realize. We should always be making it as easy as possible for people to comment, and we should always encourage engagement. Thanks for taking time out of your day, to drop a comment here!
Lisa says
I agree with all of these! What I hate the most is those darn pop up ads! If i take the time to read a post, ill take the time to comment. However, there are times I dont comment simply because story didnt click with me.
Missy says
Love it!!! I hate a Captcha more than a visit to the dentist. Love the tips!
@Dayngr says
Thanks for adding to the conversation! We love hearing your blogging pet-peeves.